Birthday in pictures

So we had our wonderful Birthday Dinner last night with family. It was great we were at Chuck E. Cheese for 2 hours. It didn't feel that long. I got whooped up on in both basketball and ski-ball, but not by my 5 year old. She had a blast going around with family members and playing games, and all the other fun stuff there is to do there. Here are some pictures from her family birthday dinner.

So Grace enjoyed our wonderful dinner and said it was her best birthday ever. Lets wait until we have her party and then see what she says about it.

I bet that will be the best birthday ever then.


Smiles.


Cake


Kisses from an uncle


Chuck E. Cheese


thanks for stopping by.

I have a 5 year old?

So this week my sweet little angel Grace turned 5 years old.

I remember her birth like it was yesterday, what I wore to the hospital, what I watched on TV as we waited for her to be born, the frantic doctors and nurses as we prepared for a scary and rewarding birth.


This was Grace 5 years ago.

Man how time has flown, 5 years already. It seems like yesterday she came into this world in an exciting way, and it has been exciting ever since then. She is a big girl. So today one of the things we did to celebrate her birthday was Build-A-Bear, but instead of building a bear, we built a pink Octopus, which we dressed in a perfectly wonderful Mermaid Outfit! Only my daughter. So now she has a pink dinosaur (we got last year on vacation) named Daisy and she has a pink octopus named Xenia, apparently there is something about pink, and flowers that my daughter must like :D.




Dinner tonight with the whole family will be at Chuck E. Cheese. I will be sure to add some pictures from there. It is one of her favorite places to eat....who knew a kid liking Chuck E. Cheese.

So Grace, Hartley, and I have been doing something new at bedtime. The 3 of us lay in Grace's awesome Big Girl bed. I read both of them a book or two sometimes three depending on time, then we read out of the daily devotional book we have, then a bible story, or verse, then onto prayers. I am learning to pray for them not just "God bless Grace and Hartley" but to really pray for them, for thier future, their faith, their future spouses(That God prepares the heart of the men they will one day marry), their careers, just for their future. One thing I have been praying over Grace lately is for when she starts school in August, for the children she will meet, the experiences she will have, and for her teacher. Just that it is a wonderful experience for her.

Picture of the girls during our new Bedtime Routine.


Something Else Grace and I love to do and take pictures of is make Funny Faces.




So now onto Baby updates.
Hartley who is 9 weeks old can now roll from her back to her left side or right side. Wow how amazing she has been. She is always smiling at me when I talk with her. She is changing and growing so much it is crazy. She is getting so big and I cannot wait to take her to the Doctor on Friday and see how much my little chunker has grown. She was a dainty baby, and now you would never know she was dainty at a whooping 6lbs 14 ounces at birth. I am thinking this little bunny is close to 12 lbs now but we will see.


This was our family night from last Friday we went on a picnic at the Park and while Daddy and Grace flew the kite Hartley and I just hung out.

Here is one I got of her smiling at me though.


God has shown me a lot about life, patience, andlove through my girls, my marriage, and my everyday happenings. Keep reading for more updates on the girls, myself and my marriage.

Love, Peace, & Happiness always.

~Samantha.

The Joys of June

So far June has been a crazy, fun and busy month for this family. We have had graduation parties, friends coming over, family gatherings, and I even talked the Husband into doing Family pictures. :)





We have had so much going on, we don't get to celebrate G's 5th Birthday until July. :(
Well she doesn't care as long as her 5th birthday gets her tea party birthday party like she wants. I am still gathering decorations and ideas for her party.

Today Hartley turns 2 months. It is crazy. I've been trying to spend time with my girls separate and together. This summer is about making memories as a family, since Grace will no longer be with mommy all day once Fall comes and Kindergarten comes.

One thing I make sure to do with Grace and tonight I did it with both girls, is to read a story, read a bible verse or devotional, and say our prayers before we go to sleep for the night.


So because they were just so cute in Bed I had to snap a picture.

Grace recieved this book from the called Born Yesterday: The Diary of a Young Journalist(She received it before Hartley was born) it is the perfect book. Its about a baby who is born and has a sister who is about to start kindergarten. It makes me think so much of my girls. One of the last pages in the book, the baby decides it wants to run away and be part of another family because it is embarrassed that her older sister found her diary. So the older sister comes home from school one day crying and crawls into the crib with the baby sister, and says "You are my best friend, you don't laugh at me." Makes me have that same hope for my girls, that they will be best friends. I hope that's how my girls will end up.

Trying to figure out what to do for Father's Day for the awesome Father of my girls. He is amazing and wonderful with them.



Well I am out for the night. I can hear Hartley on the Monitor so I need to go soon. Keep checking back for fun pictures of the kids, family, and our awesomely fun filled family summer.

Love, Peace, and Happiness to all,

~Samantha